[SOLVED] NZXT X61 Fan RPM Not Controlled By CAM?

[Minky7]

I'm having an issue with my NZXT X61, I've had some issues previously, but none related to this. This time (after a case swap, everything is plugged in correctly), no matter what I set the fan speed percentage to in the CAM software the fans continue to run at 1200-1350 RPM. It's rather annoying as a large reason I made a swap in cases is to get rid of a rattling noise caused by my old case. So now I went from rattling to a full throttle cooler... Any ideas for how to solve this?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Download the latest version of CAM and then uninstall CAM. Shut down and unplug the power supply from the wall. Do a hard reset of the BIOS as follows:

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

Boot into Windows and install the latest version of CAM and during the install be sure to check the box next to installing the drivers for your cooler from the listed options.

Restart the system, configure CAM and see if the problem remains. If it does, then it's likely something is not physically connected or is not connected properly.

 

[Minky7]

Well... This has spiraled very steeply. So I reset the BIOS as instructed, but after selecting (what I thought) was the correct boot drive (turns out there was a windows boot manager on my secondary SSD for some reason) I got an error saying there was a missing device (code: 0xc000000e) and also an error saying that there were missing windows files (cannot re-create this error anymore, so can't get the code) when I tried to try again. Entering the recovery environment from the recovery blue screen or going into UEFI Firmware Settings both result in the system shutting down suddenly and restarting whereas selecting the try again option or the startup settings the screen simply flashes black and does nothing. In addition if I leave it on the recovery screen for awhile the system will just shut down and do nothing. After that I poked around in the BIOS to discover that I was booting from the wrong drive, I tried booting from my main SSD (no windows boot manager on it) I get a message saying "error: no such partition. Entering rescue mode... grub rescue>". I'm currently making a bootable thumb drive on my laptop, in hopes that I can use it to recover something, I don't know what though. Seeing as how my main SSD seems to have died there's little hope in recovering anything off of it as far as I'm aware (luckily it was mainly windows and programs (including CAM...)), and I never had windows installed on my secondary SSD so I don't think there's any use in trying to use the boot media to recover the windows install (which is nonexistant?) on it. This whole thing is rather confusing as none of my drives showed any strange behavior or signs of failure... Unless you know of another course, I guess my best option would be to get a new SSD and re-install windows on it when it arrives (better SSD this time).

 

[Darkbreeze]

What are your full hardware specs including any attached storage, along with the approximate ages of any storage devices, power supply (Exact model and approximate age) and Windows version?

 

[Minky7]

CPU: i7 6700k
Mobo: MSI Z170A Krait Gaming 3X
GPU: GTX 1070
RAM: 32GB (4x 8GB)

Storage:
Boot Drive (the reporting no such partition): Corsair MP300 120GB (Approx. 7 months old)
Secondary SSD (the one with the windows boot manager on it for some reason): Samsung 860 EVO 1TB (Approx. 1 month old)
Storage Drive: Seagate Barracuda 3 TB ST3000DM008 (Approx. 1 year)
Secondary Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB WD10EZEX (Approx. 3 years)

I'm running Windows 10 Home - 64 Bit.
My power supply is an EVGA SuperNOVA G2 750W (Approx. 3 years)

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, so everything SHOULD be fine there. Pretty much all good hardware, and none of it very old really.

Which drive are you wanting to have Windows installed on? The Corsair 120GB drive?

 

[Minky7]

Sorry for the slow response, forgot to refresh the page. Yes, ideally the Corsair 120GB is what I'd want to install windows on. But I'm not sure if that's a good idea anymore considering it's track record for reliability. I just ordered a Intel 660p (1TB) so I plan on installing on that once it gets here (prime shipping so not TOO bad). Unless you think any other action should be taken I don't see much more that can be done from this point.

 

[Darkbreeze]

When you get the new drive, there are a few things to pay attention to even if you BELIEVE you fully understand the best installation practices that should be followed. AND, you might, but it's always good to be sure because I have a feeling they weren't followed before, hence your problem with the multiple drive installation resulting in partitions not being where they should be.

First, there should only be ONE storage device attached to the system when you do the Windows installation, other than the device you are installing FROM. ONE.

Disconnect ALL drives except the USB or optical installation media and the target drive for the operating system. Otherwise you may end up with orphaned partitions, as you have seen, with the boot manager being on a drive it doesn't belong on.

Two, do NOT create ANY partitions or do ANY formatting of the target drive before you install Windows. During the installation you will choose the "Custom" option, you will delete ALL existing partitions (If there ARE any) on the drive and then you will click on the listed "unallocated space" which should be the only drive in the list, and then click next. Windows will create ALL necessary partitions and perform ANY necessary formatting, automatically. You do not need to do that prior to the installation.

If you follow my guide, it will give you EVERY step you need to take in order to ensure the result is a CLEAN install of Windows. If you wish, you could also try this with the current Corsair drive, as you really have nothing to lose by doing so. I think your problems mainly stem from borked partition structure, although it's certainly possible that you have a bad drive. Pretty rare to see an SSD go bad though, rather than simply wear out over time, which would take many years in most cases.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Minky7]

Well, I followed your guide for installation of windows, everything is working fine on that front now. However, the problem with the cooler has persisted. Before you ask, yes I am absolutely certain that everything is plugged in properly. I have checked multiple times, this is approbated by the fact that I am able to control the LEDs on the unit without issue.

 

[Darkbreeze]

How long have you had this cooler?

 

[Minky7]

It's been almost three years at this point, I suppose it could be failing. Do coolers have a short lifespan generally?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Three years for an AIO would not be unreasonably short. Usually we see them last about three to five years, not counting premature failures. They could last more or less depending on the average on time per day and how rigorous the sessions generally are. Obviously, the initial quality of the product can be a factor as well.

I'll be honest. I seriously dislike NZXT products other than some of their cases. I've owned quite a few of their products that rely on the CAM software and for the most part it has been buggy or broken for much of it's life until I've finally moved on from it to other products. Products that don't require the CAM software. The CAM software that likes to gather your personal information and phone home with it regardless of your specific settings.

That's not exactly related to your problem, but it might be something you want to consider in the event you decide to make a purchasing decision at some later date.

https://support.camwebapp.com/forum...s/19538782-fully-offline-mode-for-cam-privacy


Have you looked in CAM or in the BIOS, to see what the pump RPM is doing?

 

[Minky7]

I see, I'll contact NZXT support and see if they can do anything. If not I guess I might start looking into a new cooler. I totally get you when it comes to NZXT, they do tend to be rather hit or miss, especially when it comes to CAM.

Edit: No I haven't checked the pump RPM ever. I was mostly concerned with the fans as the main noise I was hearing was airflow, and they were constantly around 1200-1300 RPM.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, if there is no circulation because the pump isn't running, or isn't running at the correct speed, or there is an air bubble/vapor lock in there, then the fans are going to go full speed because nothing is actually getting cooled without the coolant circulating. I'd bet either the pump has failed or you have an airlock.

Try elevating the front of the case by levering it backwards until the radiator is above the pump and horizontal. Also, might be a good idea to check the pump RPM like I said and make sure it's even spinning. Couple of things that can happen are the pump comes uncoupled from the impeller, so you see an RPM signal but there is no flow. Or an airlock. Or the pump is not pumping at all. Or pump connection got knocked loose so not pumping.

Lots of things that could cause the fans to go full speed, and all of them are pretty much not due to the fans at all, but something else making the system hot and forcing the fans to run full speed. Triple check all of the pump and fan connections as well.

 

[Minky7]

I did have to RMA my previous X61 for pump issues as well. Though I find it strange that manually forcing the fan speed in CAM doesn't change it. I suppose it could be a CAM bug, as you mentioned it is very buggy. I'll fiddle with it like you suggest, might knock something into place (figuratively or literally ). Thanks for all the help, by the way!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cam is not necessary in order to use that cooler.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...o-freezes-with-no-bsod.3493283/#post-21150962